Negative Red, Positive Blue
by Krim - The Tastic One
Summary: [Modern AU] No war. No comet. No avatar. Just two teenagers who seemed to be moved by the power of magnetism: negative red and positive blue. [KataraZuko centric][In progress][Rating may go up]
1. Like No One's Watching

_I don't own Avatar. Or Zutara (or whatever the hell you want to call them.) Neither do I own the modern world (yay for modern day!AU!). However, I take credit for bastardizing it; it's the modern world, but Air/Fire/Water/Earthbending all exist. Katara and Sokka live with their grandmother, Aang lives with his foster father, and Zuko lives with his Uncle Iroh. Okay, onto the fic. (I'll be using this plot-ish-thing a lot). I also don't own Ani DeFranco or "Not A Pretty Girl"._

It didn't take Zuko long to realize the girl next door left her window open in the summer.

He hadn't wanted to move in with his uncle. Not by a longshot. Sure, the old geezer was fun to hang around, but to _live_ with? No. No no no. But it was better, he mused, than living with his crazed father. That was an upside...sorta.

His first year in school had been akin to tripping over the many rocks in the road of life. Many big, hulking, unnecessary rocks that sort of chipped off when he tripped over them and scratched him up. The guidance counselor wanted to be his best friend (ew), the school food was made of rubber (public schools, _honestly_), but at the very least, they taught bending to the kids they concidered "gifted". That was nice.

Until _she_ came along. The Waterbending brat that the coaches put him up against. He'd have liked to believe that he knew his limits, and wasn't cocky.

Sometimes, people don't always get what they want.

She beat him. The little wench _beat him_. Not by a whole lot, but _still_. From that point on, it might as well have been all-out war between them; Zuko refused to give up, and the girl - Katara or something - was more than willing to meet his challenges. Sometimes he won - and sometimes he didn't. The duels became his drug, his addiction; the only escape he found in a strange, "lowerclass" place.

Needless to say, he grudgingly _missed_ his opponant during the summer holiday. He even began missing the way she'd send a scowl or a taunting grin his direction after every duel before running off with her bald-headed airbender friend and her dorky brother.

Until she moved right next door. At first, he'd balked, naturally; who really wanted their school enemy next door? Sure, he missed _fighting_ with her, but not _that_ much. It hardly stopped him from doing nothing but hanging around the house all day (friends, you say? No, Zuko didn't _have_ friends. Not here.) But _still_.

One morning, however, Zuko found himself up at the oddest hour: 7:30 on a Saturday. There wasn't much to do, and he certainly wouldn't wake his uncle. It was a nice morning, nice enough to open the window, and after a few minutes of reading, he completely forgot how early it really was.

He was mildy irritated when the sound of blaring music pushed into his illusion of the Great War soldier - it was a really good book - and was compelled to look out his window. The music was coming from the house next door; _her_ house.

_"I am not a pretty girl...That is not what I do...I ain't no damsel in distress..."_

Pushing aside his curtains, he was ready to yell across the painfully short distance, but the sight that met him was rather difficult to yell at. There she was, his school enemy, dancing around in her pajamas and singing along to Ani DeFranco into her hairbrush. She obviously hadn't entertained the possibility of someone _watching_; some motions were jerky, or clumsy, but they made her all the more _real_. Slowly, as if hesitant to catch her attention, Zuko backed away from the window, frowing to himself; was she supposed to look that pretty? (No, no, of course not; that wasn't how it went. Enemies weren't supposed to be _pretty_.) Pretending he really _wasn't_ sneaking looks out of his window - he hadn't bothered to close the curtain again - he went back to his book, feining indifference.

Those curtains didn't close very much for the rest of the summer. And when Iroh caught his nephew humming Ani DeFranco one day, purely by accident, he said nothing; simply grinned and took a look out the window.


	2. Guessing Games

_Again, I don't own Avatar. Not even a DVD. (Still, it's better to be safe than sorry with this disclaimer thing, hm?)_

"Can it stay like this?"

"Hm?"

Zuko shifted slightly, arching his neck up to look at Katara; her eyes were trained on the sky, as if the answer to her question was held in the stars. They'd been laying on the grass in silence for the last half an hour, reveling in their victory; sneaking out of their homes had been quite the ordeal. Sokka had insisted on using the bathroom the very moment Katara had deemed it safe to leave, and Zuko's uncle had been up late watching television, forcing the boy to climb out his window. One would think that they'd been planning to do something forbidden, like normal teenagers; forging fake IDs and sneaking into a club, perhaps, or stealing his uncle's car and finding an empty parking lot, or maybe even just going to the mall.

But it was a surprisingly simple thing they snuck out to do. They had snuck out...to sit. Well, lay down, now, in the park. They'd been doing this for some time; it had started a month before, with both arriving in a spot in the park they claimed as their own. They'd bickered at first, recognizing each other from school - how could they forget? They dueled every time they met - but eventually, they'd just took a seat and watched the stars, pretending having the other there didn't bother them at all.

The companionship had come much later. A mutter of hello one night. Two days later, he'd commented that she looked "oddly nice, for sneaking out". It had rained the fifth day; Katara had shared her umbrella with a rather disgruntled Zuko. By the second week, they were actually having _conversations_. Actual ones, without purposeful insults or _anything_. (They never hinted at their friendliness to anyone in school, of course; no, they couldn't have _that_. They were just as competative and snarky as ever, there.)

By the forth week - the _present_ - they could even be considered _good_ friends. And tonight, they were watching the stars together. The September grass was cool; the summer heat hadn't faded in the least, and it was a welcome change. They lay at an angle, heads a foot or so away from each other. Katara was spread-eagle on the ground, captivated by Orion; Zuko had one hand out in the grass, the other on his stomach.

"Safe," she replied after a few moments of pondering. "Night."

"Obviously not," he replied, perhaps a tiny bit harshly; he had to admit, he had _no_ idea what she meant. "We'll have to go back and go to sleep eventually."

"I know," the Waterbender admitted reluctantly. "I like it this way, though."

Zuko frowned, confused. "What are you babbling about?"

Her lips pursed, as if annoyed that Zuko was confused. She opened her mouth, about to snap, when she realized she probably _was_ being a bit...cryptic. Looking away from the stars, she arched her own neck, meeting Zuko's yellow eyes; his good one was open, eyebrow raised, while the one shrouded by the scar refused to show the same emotion. "Tomorrow, when we go to school, neither of us will act like _this_ ever happens." She lifted her hands to motion around the park; her arms were bare and dark in the moonlight, contrasting with the light blue tank top she was wearing.

"...that's true," he admitted, not sure if that was good or not (or rather, not sure what stance Katara would take on it).

"Well...I like _this_."

"You keep coming back," Zuko replied, as if to say _'I know that, so tell me something new'_.

Katara sighed, a bit exasperated. "You're still missing my point, aren't you?"

His silence told her what would've sounded silly; he didn't want to actually _admit_ to being confused. Sighing again, she pushed herself up on her elbows and rolled over, positioning herself so she looked into his eyes upside-down. The boy looked right back, eyes narrowing a little bit, wondering what she was doing. Her braid fell over one shoulder, threatening to brush the side of his scar as her incredulous expression caught his attention.

Zuko moved completely onto his back, threading his fingers together over his stomach. "Well...?"

"I can't believe you don't _get_ it yet." (Zuko wondered idly if this...cryptic speech was a girl thing.)

"I can't believe you won't just _say_ it," he countered, now a little annoyed himself. He _thought_ he knew what she meant, but didn't want to risk guessing (because, really, how would he indicate he knew what she meant? "Hell, I like you, too"? No. Absolutely not. That'd be like admitting he'd been spying on her every morning in the summer because she left her window open).

She huffed, giving him a look that suggested (and didn't) at the same time. "Boys are stupid."

His eye narrowed. "Girls are confusing."

Huffing again, she flopped onto her back, closer now than she had been before. After a moment of thought, Zuko hauled himself up, planting himself square in her vision. "And what if I really _don't_ get it? Then what?"

"Huh?"

Zuko rolled his good eye before almost _glaring_. "If I guess, and I'm wrong, then what?"

Katara shrugged; now _she_ was confused. "At least you _tried_ to get it, right?"

"I can't be sure with _you_."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You're a girl," he said, bluntly.

"Glad you noticed." Her eyes narrowed.

"And confusing."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"You are."

"You just don't pay enough attention."

"Why can't girls just _say_ something?" he demanded. "Instead of dancing around it."

"Because," she answered snappishly, failing to notice that the boy had brought himself closer, "we're _trying_ to give you boys some credit!"

"Oh, that makes sense."

"If you'd pay some attention, it--" She stopped mid-sentence, the annoyed look still on her face as Zuko's went blank. However, Katara was having a hard time of _seeing_ Zuko's expression; she was too busy registering the fact that he was kissing the scowl that he himself had caused.

It took her a moment for her mind to catch up, but when it did, her expression softened, smiling under Zuko's lips as she returned the kiss. After a moment, he pulled back, glaring down; however, the glare softened a bit when he realized she wasn't _angry_ at him.

Katara grinned up at the confused look on his face before saying, "Guess what."

His shoulders sagged just so; he didn't know what to expect. "I'm not sure if I should be guessing anything right now."

"Really. Guess what."

"What?"

"You guessed right."


	3. Bring On The Rain

_Again, I don't own Avatar. Not even a DVD. (Still, it's better to be safe than sorry with this disclaimer thing, hm?)_

Why he thought that night would change anything, he didn't know. Perhaps he was being sentimental. That was probably it.

It just went to prove that being sentimental didn't get a person much of anywhere.

The past week or so of school had been murder. Not because the other kids looked at him oddly; he was used to that. After all, when one has a scar the size of their hand on their left eye, it was only to be expected. No, it wasn't that. It was that waterbender, Katara.

After that night, she'd stopped coming to the park, even if Zuko hadn't. She could've been busy, or tired, or something, he reasoned, but when she didn't show during the weekend, he began to worry. Perhaps they'd gone somewhere for the weekend, he'd reasoned. But when she failed to show up at all, even after the weekend, there was almost no other conclusion to come to.

She really hadn't wanted him to kiss her. The thought of making such a mistake made his stomach turn at the thought of facing her again.

And dammit, she wasn't even in any of his classes. Being fifteen - he was seventeen - she _wouldn't_ be. But he walked through every day with his stomach in a knot, both anticipating and dreading the bending lessons. Bending was most certainly his first obsession, but when the girl who was quickly becoming his second was there as well, the boy was getting a bit of overload.

In the locker room with the other boys, Zuko idly buttoned his shirt, listening to the usual chatter. (He'd found that the boys in the school were just as chatty and gossipy as the girls; they just kept it behind closed doors.) The others generally ignored him, though a few went out of their way to talk to him; it wasn't that they didn't like him. They just had their own lives to run.

"Did you hear about the tournament coming up? I hear the coaches are really gonna start cracking down--"

"I can't believe it; Mom's gonna kill me for ruining this shirt--"

"Ugh, Donovan annoys the shit out of me; I can bend just as well as she can--"

"Have you guys seen Katara lately? She gets prettier every day..."

At that, Zuko spun without really thinking about it, honing in on the boy who'd said her name, a sixteen-year-old earthbender named Haru. He almost glared, the scowl already forming, when a fellow firebender gave him a look, asking, "Zuko? You look like someone just pulled your ponytail."

Catching himself, he looked over at Lin, the bender who'd made the ponytail comment. "What are you getting at?"

Lin's eyebrows raised, nearly disappearing into his mass of black hair. "Nothing. Seriously. C'mon, let's go."

Glancing over at Haru, Zuko followed Lin into the football field, obnoxiously aware that the earthbender was only a few feet away. _Don't get jealous, stupid; so what if he likes her? You're a better bender, anyway..._ Truth be told, Zuko _was_ jealous, even if he had rejection staring him in the face. She'd been unusually distant during their duels lately, too; he never thought he'd miss being called arrogant right before his feet were frozen. Not that he'd ever let it show, of course...

Out on the field, the girls were already waiting, some stretching, some chatting. Habitually, Zuko picked Katara out of the crowd, chatting with another waterbender, giggling at something she said. Resisting the urge to go over and ask what was going on, Zuko walked right to Captain Jee with the other firebenders and bowed before taking a seat in the grass, waiting for whatever the Captains had to say; there'd be rumors of a tournament that would probably be addressed.

Before he looked up at his own Captain again, he could swear that Katara glanced over, but refused to push his luck. Giving Haru a skeptical look as the other boy gave Katara a grin before sitting by his own respective Captain - a hard-looking woman decked out in green and brown - Zuko settled.

Captain Jee cleared his throat, commanding everyone's attention - even the other captains. "As I'm sure you know, we have a tournament coming up in a month and a half. You'll each be paired with a partner of a different element, but today, we're looking strictly at form, and we'll announce partnerships tomorrow. I'd like you to be aware of the positions of the cameras around the field and take care _not_ to hit them or knock them down..."

---

She felt badly about avoiding Zuko so vehemently, but she didn't know what else to do.

Ever since that night, she wasn't sure what to do or think about him. They were just friends, weren't they? That couldn't be true; he'd kissed her, hadn't he? But he must've thought she hated him; after not showing up in the park, even over the weekend, that's what he must've thought. Her stomach turned, realizing that she'd probably unintentionally pushed him away.

Really, she wasn't sure _how_ she felt. Maybe a little bit, but not a lot; she'd enjoyed the kiss, but what it might've led to, Katara couldn't say. In her confusion, she'd become a coward, run away, and she could tell that Zuko knew it; there was just something..._missing_ in their duels now. Thankfully, she didn't see him in any of her classes, so she didn't have to worry about it throughout the day, but she couldn't get away from the duels; after all, the coaches set them up, not the duelists. At least, not usually, so clinging to Yue wouldn't help.

Still, she hated the idea that she was running away, even if she really _was_.

Sitting on the grass in the field, Katara chatted with Yue, noting the smell in the air that meant rain was coming.

"So, is tomorrow good for you?" Yue asked, brushing a bit of white hair behind her ear.

"Sure. I'm sure Gran Gran wouldn't mind having you over," Katara confirmed, grinning evilly. "And I don't think Sokka would mind either."

The older girl turned a light shade of red. "Oh, I don't know about that..."

Katara laughed. "Oh, come on, he likes you."

In an attempt to change the subject, Yue pointed out, "Hey, the boys are here."

Looking over, she gave Zuko the shortest glance she could muster; he still looked kind of...uncomfortable? She didn't have much time to concider it before Haru walked by, grinning in a friendly way and waving just slightly. Grateful to have a distraction from the firebender, she waved back, a small smile on her own face.

"I think he likes you, Katara," Yue whispered, leaning closer.

"Ssh," she nearly scolded, "He's just friendly."

Which was a pretty odd way of putting it. Thankfully, Captain Jee stepped forward to explain the tournament before Yue could tease her anymore.

But no matter how hard she tried to keep her attention on the Captain, her gaze kept shifting...

---

Rain. Zuko hated getting caught in the rain. He hated going home wet. And he hated not having an umbrella.

For the most part, the practice had been rather standard; they had been instructed to do nearly every move they knew, but Zuko had been an expert before moving. It wasn't much of a strain. They'd put him against Haru today, instead of Katara; he'd wondered why, but he wasn't eager to see it changed, and had gone with it.

Now, he was standing under the awning in front of the school, contemplating just calling his uncle to drive him home. He'd be soaked otherwise; the rain came down thick, spilling over the edges of the building in mock waterfalls. Walking home wouldn't be fun at all, not at all.

"Zuko?"

He nearly jumped, neck snapping around toward the voice; there was Katara, holding an umbrella and looking as if she were just about to open. Her expression wasn't hostile or blank, like he would've expected from someone avoiding him the way she was. In fact, she looked worried.

He feigned indifference. "What?"

"You waiting for someone?" She shifted from one foot to the other, adjusting her backpack.

"Maybe. Why?"

"You don't have an umbrella."

He scoffed. "I noticed."

There was a stretch of silence; Katara popped her umbrella open, bit her lip. Zuko looking back out into the rain, contemplated.

"Take mine."

"What?"

He looked back. Katara was holding out her umbrella, a semi-determined look on her face. "Take it. I can just bend the water away from me."

Balking at the idea of receiving help for something as simple as getting home in the rain, he protested, "No, it's yours."

"Take the umbrella, Zuko." Her expression hardened, stance stiff.

Zuko bristled at both the command and use of his name. "No."

"Take it!"

"Why should I!"

"Because it's _raining_, and you'll get _wet_, and I'm being nice so _take the stupid umbrella and stop being so stubborn!_"

Glaring now, Zuko promptly snatched the umbrella away a bit more aggressively than he probably should have. "There, are you happy?" he spat. "I'll take the stupid umbrella."

Katara nodded, grinning smugly now. "Yes, that's much better."

Grunting, he rolled his good eye, about to step out into the rain before turning back and (still glaring) ordering, "Come on."

The smug expression dropped as Katara gave Zuko a confused look. "What?"

"You heard me."

"_What?_"

"I'm walking you home; come on."

Now it was Katara's turn to bristle; she could damn well walk herself home! And besides, if they were going to walk home together, she wouldn't have given him the umbrella! "I can walk myself home," she replied curtly, marching right into the rain. One hand hovered over her head, bending the water away.

"We live next door," he told her bluntly. "It's stupid to go separately."

Stopping in her tracks, Katara mulled it over, muscles still stiff with indignance. "...Fine. Get over here, then; my arm's starting to hurt."

A complete lie, but she was sure she'd be forgiven.

Unwilling to be rushed, Zuko took his own sweet time catching up until they were both under the umbrella. Wordless, they walked on, satisfied with the silence. (At least they weren't arguing anymore.)

When they were almost home, Zuko broke the silence. "So what's wrong?"

"Wrong?" She looked over and up, raising her eyebrows. "Nothing."

"Could have fooled me."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You've been avoiding me, that's what!" If anything could be said of Zuko, it was that he didn't feel the need to keep his voice down.

Refusing to look at him now, she threw up a defensive, angry face. "We don't talk in school, anyway."

"I'm not talking about school," Zuko snapped, staring at the back of her head.

"I've been busy."

"For over a week?" Grunting, he added, "With what?"

"Things."

"Like what?"

Spinning around, she spat, "Just things, okay!"

Enraged by her reaction, he stopped, the hand gripping the umbrella turning white. "If you just tell me, I won't be angry anymore! You _have_ been avoiding me, haven't you?"

"No!" Like a fool, she entered a staring contest with a boy with one good eye. One glaring, unblinking good eye. After a moment, she said, "Maybe. ...Yes, okay? Yes, I have!"

"Why, then?" he demanded. "I have a right to know!"

"Because!"

"That's not a reason!"

"Did it ever occur to you I'm avoiding you because I _like_ you?"

The rage flickered off for a moment as confusion took over. What had she just said? _What?_ "That doesn't make any sense," he managed, keeping his angry expression. Barely. "That's stupid! Why would you--"

Apparently tired of listening to him talk, Katara followed an urge without bothering to give it any thought; she threw her arms around Zuko's neck and kissed him, cutting off his sentence. The scowl on his lips pressed into hers, but she kept her eyes closed, waiting. A moment or two later, his expression softened, twisted in confusion, and then eventually just relaxed. Returning the surprising kiss (apparently, he wasn't giving it much thought by now, either), his free arm found Katara's waist. Rain poured down upon them as his other arm lowered until the tip of the umbrella touched the ground.

The kiss ended on its own, with both Zuko and Katara staring at each other with a mix of confusion, disbelief, and pleasure. Wet, and with fast-beating hearts, they could do little more than wonder in the other's general direction until Zuko broke the silence.

"Katara, what--"

"Hey, Katara! Gran Gran says to get in here!" Both Katara and Zuko looked around, gazes meeting Sokka on the threshold of Katara's home; they hadn't been aware of _exactly_ how close they'd been to their houses. Quickly backing away from Zuko, Katara fought back the red that was certainly creeping into her face; she wasn't sure how much Sokka had seen, but he'd certainly give her grief about it later.

"Hang on!"

"She says now!"

Glancing back at Zuko, she muttered a quick apology before dashing to her house, forgetting to bend the rain away. Left hanging, Zuko stared after her, calling a moment too late, "You forgot this!", holding up the umbrella.

Feeling foolish for yelling at someone already gone, Zuko did a quick sweep of the area before running for his own porch, shaking out the umbrella and leaving it outside. Holding a hand to his shaved head, he wondered _exactly_ what had just happened. Again. Deciding he'd get an answer later - again - he came to the conclusion that he wanted to be dry right now instead. Stalking inside, he kicked off his sneakers in the kitchen, nearly running into his uncle - who was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking tea - on his way to the stairs.

Iroh seemed to have this little smile on his face; the sort people often had when they knew something someone else didn't. Stopping for a moment, Zuko stared at his uncle, who only looked up, smiling innocently.

"I would invite you for some tea, but you're absolutely soaked," Iroh said with a trace of humor in his voice. Zuko grunted before heading up the stairs, wondering exactly how much Iroh knew. About everything.

---

"What was _that_, Katara?" Sokka prodded after the door was closed. Katara ignored him, taking off her shoes before heading upstairs to get dry. Following her, her brother continued his inquiry. "Helloooo, earth to Katara?"

"Go away, Sokka." She stopped, turning around to glare at him; she really didn't want to deal with him right then.

"Hey, as your brother, I have a right to know," he insisted, standing straight and folding his arms over his chest in an effort to seem tough.

"Yue's coming over tomorrow."

"...Yue?"

Leaving her brother to do what she was sure was a combination of worrying, visualizing, and drooling, Katara went to get a pair of pajamas and take her shower, a smug smile on her face. Sokka was always so easily distracted, and she knew her friend liked him anyway.

In her room, she went straight for her dresser, glancing out the window out of habit. Lo and behond, there was Zuko, stripping off his shirt in his own room, just across the way. (Apparently, he didn't care about his carpet being wet.) Feeling sort of like a spy, she paused for a moment to watch the muscles in his back flex as he threw the shirt off to the side to join the rest of the clutter in his bedroom.

When she thought he looked as if he would turn around, she looked away, snatching a nightgown and dashing to the bathroom. She wasn't sure what would happen next with Zuko, and she wasn't sure she wanted to ask; Zuko was like the fire he bended, wild, unpredicatable.

And she kind of liked that.


End file.
